June 15, 2010

What made Chris Sale adopt a three quarter delivery when pitching?

As Sale himself tells it, “My freshman year I really struggled. I was having trouble getting outs. There was a span where I was pitching good, but during mid-summer my fastball was really flat. I kind of hit the wall.”

… “I was talking with some of the coaches there and they were saying you can’t keep doing the same thing you’re doing, you have to try something different,” Sale said. “So I dropped down and tried a different arm slot (a three-quarters delivery). I saw immediate results with it. It was night and day. My velocity went up, I got the most out of my change-up, and I got better with the slider.”

… “What the change in arm angle did was create movement and sink on his pitches,“ Tollett said. “He had the belief now that he could get it done. I started putting him in situations where he could be successful, where he didn’t have to worry about results. Then I put him in some big ball games and started to see what his future could look like.”

… “I’m stoked to start my career,” Sale said. “I know Ozzie Guillen is a crazy manager, but I feel like I’m really going to get along with this guy. He wouldn’t have that crazy reputation if he weren’t competitive like I am. I just want to be one of the main guys they depend on and eventually win the World Series, which is everything.”